Hello, friends! Spring is here, which means that there will be another March soon. 64 Oz. to Freedom, a hike that has become a yearly tradition, will fit the bill nicely.

For those of you unfamiliar with this hike (which is really everybody, because those of you who have gone before will see some cool enhancements this year), there are several things you should know.

1) First off, there is the matter of transportation to the start point, which is in Agoura Hills. The meeting place, as noted above, is my house in Woodland Hills, near which is plenty of street parking. We will be gathering in front of my place at 3:00 PM, and heading to the nearby bus stop on the corner of Ventura and Shoup, just two blocks down. The bus is supposed to arrive at 3:29 (please bring $1.50 cash or a loaded up TAP card to cover the fare). If you come too late and miss it, you will have to drive over to the park and ride lot on the corner of Kanan Rd. and Roadside Dr. (mapped here), and leave your car there until late at night, when somebody can (probably) give you a ride to pick it up. What’s more, you will have to walk by yourself (or with other latecomers) to the start point, described below in item 2. Please make it easy on yourself and avoid tardiness!

2) After the bus ride and a short walk, we will be at The Lab Brewing Co. (on Agoura Rd. just east of Reyes Adobe Rd.). We will be hiking all the way from there through the southeasternmost portion of the Simi Hills into the southwest part of the San Fernando Valley, a total of 15.2 miles. The hike’s ending point is the White Harte Pub in Woodland Hills, conveniently located by my place (and, if you didn’t miss the bus, your car). A map of the route can be found at http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5902587.

3) Before we reach the end, we will be making a stop at the Cave of Munits, named for a Chumash shaman who was killed after murdering a local chief’s son, and who supposedly took residence there. It is not required that you enter the cave, although if you have not seen the inside of it, you might want to check it out. There is a short climb inside, which is not too difficult to make as there are good handholds and footholds present. We will not be here for too long, just long enough so that people can have a peek inside.

4) This hike takes place in the evening, mostly in the dark. It is greatly advised that you bring a flashlight with you. It might not hurt to bring a sweatshirt, either, in case it gets cool.

5) As you may have guessed (based on the fact that we’re starting at a brewery), beer is involved! It is hoped, nay, encouraged that you drink heartily and merrily as we wend our way through the mountains! The Lab will have growlers, or 64 oz. beer jugs, available for purchase (hence the name of this event), which can be filled up with any of their delicious concoctions. We will also be stopping at Ladyface Ale Companie (our old starting point from the last two iterations of this hike), which is slightly to the east along Agoura Road, so those of you who already have Ladyface growlers may want to bring those along so you can fill them up there, and any newbies who want to get this brewery’s jug may do so. The breweries’ beer lists are at http://www.labbrewingco.com/brews.cfm and http://www.ladyfaceale.com/ontap.html; hopefully, these will aid you in making decisions about where to get your suds.

6) Our ending point, White Harte, is a nice little British-style pub that’s a great place to chill. They should still be serving food off of their normal menu by the time we get there, which should be prior to 11:30; at that time, they will switch to a late night menu that has good tacos on it, apparently. Either way, you should be able to get a nice late night snack in and aid yourself in sobering up. The bar closes at 2, so those who want to will be able to stay a while.

This trek, which is actually greater in length than the Death March, will be mind-bogglingly epic! Hope to see you there!